104 THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL [CH. 



which he recognised the conditions that make for 

 fertility in sandy soils. Owing to their small reten- 

 tive power they have to receive frequent dressings 

 of manure, and this course is only possible where a 

 considerable number of animals are kept. Means 

 therefore had to be designed for combining animal 

 husbandry with crop growing — two branches of farm- 

 ing which in the past had often been found mutually 

 antagonistic. Lord Townshend's method was to grow 

 turnips on the large scale, and then allow the animals 

 to eat the crop in situ, so that their manure might 

 fertilise the land for the next crop and their treading 

 might consolidate it and so improve it as a seed bed. 

 After turnips a crop of barley was taken and after 

 this a crop of grass and clover, part of which could 

 be cut as hay to supply food for the animals during 

 winter, and the remainder eaten in the field by the 

 animals in order to fertilise the ground for the wheat 

 crop. Then turnips were taken again. The clover 

 increased the stock of soil nitrogen and insured the 

 permanency of the system so far as nitrogen is con- 

 cerned. The plan was thoroughly sound and entirely 

 successful; a manuring crop was taken, and then a 

 cereal crop, then a second manuring crop and then 

 another cereal crop. Both animals and crops 

 flourished. So good is the plan that it survives to 

 this day under the name of the Norfolk rotation, 

 and many progressive farmers still use it with but 



